The Molecular Biology Core laboratory is a newly-instituted core facility in the University of Virginia DERC. It was begun with the aim of facilitating the research activities of two groups within the DERC: 1) several new investigators whose interests are in the molecular biology of hormone action; and 2) established investigators who are beginning to apply recombinant DNA technology to their research programs. The purpose of this laboratory are: 1) to provide a centralized facility for the preparation of bacteriological media, agar plates and other supplies that are used routinely in recombinant DNA techniques; the purchase of supplies in bulk and the mass-production of media and plates will represent a significant savings, as we have demonstrated in the Tissue Culture Core Laboratory; 2) to provide centralized, costly equipment items that will be shared by several investigators, in order to minimize the cost of these items on individual grants; 3) to perform bacteriological operations for Center members, such as transformation, propagation, and storage of bacterial stocks, and the large-scale preparation of plasmids or phage; 4) to provide a source of expertise in recombinant DNA techniques for investigators who wish to apply these techniques to problems related to hormone action; 5) to interface with the Tissue Culture Core Laboratory, the Radioimmunoassay Core Laboratory, the Hybridoma Center, and the Immunogenetics Core Laboratory on projects related to the introduction and expression of cloned genes in mammalian cells. This Core Laboratory is crucial to ongoing projects in the laboratories of Drs. Lynch (Pharmacology), Garrison (Pharmacology), Pearson (Biochemistry), Hewlett (Medicine), Creutz (Pharmacology) and Williams (Anatomy and Cell Biology).